PATH trains: Does new mean better?

New cars cramped; ill design

Now that the new PATH train cars are starting to filter in – I’m finding that not all regular commuters are necessarily happy with the shiny new cattle carriers, as one Hoboken411 reader wrote this week:

“They have a smoother, quieter ride and are clean and shiny, however, they seem narrower and feel like there’s less seating and standing room. The areas next to the doors on the old trains, always a good leaning spot, are gone. This was probably done to improve circulation but only seems to contribute to the overall cramping.

The station announcements have been replaced by a robot, no more distinct Jersey accents for the on-board entertainment. They’ve added TV monitors, too. Great. Thanks. I would hate having to go 15 minutes without being entertained minivan style in the electric sewer. Overall, these trains may be okay when there’s five people riding but for peak times THEY STINK.

The old cars, bumpy, squeaky and subject to AC/Heat/Lighting issues, seem to be roomier and better suited for peak hour crowds. New doesn’t always mean better, which can be said for alot of things.”

Maybe I should “rant” about this instead… but it’s related to PATH. Now I don’t ride PATH every day, but came out of the station this evening, and the sidewalk region where everyone crosses by Texas Arizona is a MESS! It is covered in a trap, with some planks layed across it to help faciltate a smooth corssing. Not helpful. There are random nails sticking out of pieces of wood randomly strewn across the tarp. I guess it comes down to wondering whose brilliant idea this was, and which organization is going to get sued when a drunken “Santa” on a bar crawl falls over this crumpled tarp, and gets a nail stuck in their body?

There is something wrong with the track near Hoboken. That’s where 2 trains cars derailed. There was never a problem 100 years. Now instead of doing something about it, PATH just stops the trains and putt-putts slowly until passed the point.

The new cars are a smoother and quieter ride, more relaxing in that way… however, I need to wear sunglasses because it’s way too bright in there- that also disrupts my relaxation. So those two cancel each other out.

The one thing that really bothers me is the extremely heated seats because the heating units are directly under them.

I happen to like the older cars, maybe it’s nostalgic- but they just have a better configuration and larger seats to me. The newer ones remind me of a doctors clinic or something, but I will survive and ride them anyway.